3: Storm of Thorns
by AccountClosedCept4PMingPhoenix
Summary: The mysterious she-cat has returned, but there's more to her than meets the eye. Watch as a tale of tragic love, adventure, StarClan, mysterious happenings with time, and adventure ends in Storm of Thorns.
1. Allegiances and Prologue

STORM OF THORNS

**ALLEGIANCES**

**ThunderClan**

**Leader:** Rainstar (coal gray tabby-tom with blue eyes)

**Deputy**: Ivyfrost (blackish gray she-cat with green eyes) Apprentice, Nightpaw

**Medicine cat**: Pinepool (very light brown she-cat with dark brown paws and dark green eyes) Apprentice, Lightningpaw

**Warriors:**

Doveflight (creamy white shecat with brown paws, dark blue eyes)

Mintleaf (gray she-cat with light green eyes)

Mosshadow (dark gray she-cat with dark green eyes)

Mudclaw (dark brown tom, green eyes)

Thornfur (golden, brown and red tortoiseshell-tom, brown eyes) Apprentice, Stormpaw

Mistlight (fluffy light gray she-cat with amber eyes) Apprentice, Birchpaw

Starshadow (gray and white speckled she-cat with blue eyes)

Snowbird (white she-cat with brown eyes) Apprentice, Lightpaw

Dawnheart (creamy golden shecat, brown eyes)

Hollyclaw (black she-cat with green eyes)

Dustfur (tabby tom, green eyes)

Redleg (cream tom with red legs)

Hazefur (gray tom with green eyes?)

Apprentices:

Birchpaw (Brownish cream shecat with green eyes)

Nightpaw (Black she-cat with gentle brown eyes)

Lightpaw (Creamy she-cat with green eyes)

Stormpaw (Stormy gray she-cat with piercing blue eyes)

Lightningpaw (brownish ginger tom with amber eyes and black paws)

**Elders:**

Larchwing, (Golden tabby shecat with pale blue eyes)

Lillypelt, (creamy long white pelt, blue eyes)

Frogclaw, (thick brown tortoiseshell-tom, green eyes)

Rabbittail, (light brown tom, amber eyes, white fluffy tail)

Sunflower, (ginger tabby she-cat, blue eyes)

**WindClan:**

**Leader**: Snowstar (white tom with amber eyes)

**Deputy:** Ashtail (black shecat with gray tail and blue eyes)

**Medicine cat**: Lightpaws (creamy young tom with green eyes)

**Warriors: **Swiftswallow (gray-cream tom with blue eyes)

**RiverClan: **

**Leader:** Streamstar (thin graceful silver shecat with piercing blue eyes)

**Deputy**: Rockflow (dark gray tom)

**Medicine cat:** Flowerpetal (whitish cream she-cat with gentle yellow eyes)

**Warriors**: Mistyheart (silver shecat, blue eyes)

**ShadowClan: **

**Leader:** Duskstar (small grey cat with grayish brown ears and paws)

**Deputy: **Tangleshadow (black tom with amber eyes, tough looking)

**Medicine cat:** Shadowfire (black shecat with amber eyes)

**Cats outside the Clans:**

Crystal, (white she-cat with deep amber eyes

Prologue

The bushes shook. "Are you sure about this?" Ivyfrost asked her sister, Mistlight.

"I'll be fine."

"You're close to kitting..." Ivyfrost said.

Mistlight looked up at her. "I know that. We _have_ to do this. Come on, Starshadow and Snowbird will be waiting."

Ivyfrost nodded, and then turned back. "Have you told Redleg?"

Mistlight looked up. "About this?"

Ivyfrost looked at her coolly. "Have you told him you're having kits?"

Mistlight didn't look at her. "It must be obvious by now."

"Mistlight!" Ivyfrost said sharply.

Mistlight looked up. "I will... soon. I think he wouldn't have let me go to meet Crystal if he knew."

"Maybe he's right." Ivyfrost muttered.

Mistlight pretended to not have heard. "Do you think she'll be there?"

"We don't know where there is," Ivyfrost pointed out. A mysterious rogue called Crystal had come when they were made warriors and sworn revenge on ThunderClan. But she had invited them to redeem ThunderClan if they came with her and saw something. But since then Mistlight had been expecting. There was no moon in the sky. They had only starlight to guide them. All of a sudden, Starshadow leapt out of the bushes. For a frightening moment, Mistlight thought she was going to jump on her. Mistlight had become jumpy ever since she found out she was expecting. But Starshadow had pounced on a mouse.

"Any sign of her?" Ivyfrost asked.

Starshadow looked at her coolly. "I don't think we'd know if she was standing a fox-tail away from you. When we were sitting vigil she didn't even make a sound. I couldn't hear her coming."

"She's like a hawk," Snowbird agreed.

"And we're mice." Ivyfrost said darkly.

The bushes shook. It was the white she-cat. "You came," she said. "Good. Now come with me."

They glanced at each other, then followed her. Her whiskers twitched in satisfaction.


	2. Chapter 1, Crystal

**Okay so here's the first chapter! It is already all typed out (avoids mistakes that way) and I will publish a new chapter every day or two to keep you on your toes! I must have the art of suspense, you see.**

Chapter 1, Crystal

They came out into a clearing Mistlight hadn't even known was there. The white she-cat led them to the end of it, and slid on her belly under the thorns. They followed her, thorns pricking uncomfortably into Mistlight's back. Her swollen belly slowed her down. Ivyfrost hung back behind her, watching her sister go. Starshadow was the first one to get through the tunnel of thorns. Then Snowbird came, more cautiously. They both gasped. Mistlight hurried up, and Ivyfrost was right behind her. Then they saw it.

It was a cave. But not a dripping, dark, nasty cave. It was a sparkling cave. A cave filled with crystals. Mistlight looked around in awe, her eyes wide. The white she-cat smiled. "Welcome to my home," she said. "My name is Crystal."

Starshadow beat Ivyfrost to asking, "Why have you brought us here?"

"It is a place of beauty. The only place of beauty in this forsaken forest."

Snowbird thought about all the places when sunlight dappled the leaves, the scrunching noise the moss made when you flopped on it, the sparkles of color flying from the river on a sunny day. How could this cat think that the forest wasn't beautiful?

"Now," she continued, "Do you want to save your Clan?"

"From you," Mistlight interjected.

Ivyfrost shot her a look. Of all of them, Mistlight was the one she would hate to lose the most. The four of them were as close as sisters, but Mistlight was close to kitting.

Crystal looked up at her slyly. "Not exactly, my friend. You must listen carefully to what I have to say... unless you don't care about ThunderClan.

"Your Clan is going to be destroyed by a group of rogues that like this area of the territory. Now, I can help them, or I can help you. My help is invaluable to both of you. Immediately, I thought I would side with them. But then I saw you four. Your actions made me reconsider what to do with ThunderClan."

"How do you know us so well?" Ivyfrost asked, suddenly getting a sinking feeling in her belly.

Crystal's whiskers twitched when the question was asked. "Why," she said, "I am your kin."

"What?" Mistlight gasped in outrage.

"I am your kin," she repeated. "I am ThunderClan. That makes it kin, does it not?"

"But you're a rogue," Snowbird said.

Now Crystal looked cross. "Your leader is a rogue. He has no ThunderClan blood."

Starshadow said, "Stop dangling mice by their tails in front of us then yanking them away. Who _are_ you?"

Now Crystal wasn't smiling. "I am a sister to Mosshadow and Mintleaf."

They stared in disbelief. "When I was born, my mother disowned me. Cast me out into the forest. Brambletail was also a queen at that time. She helped Briarheart leave me to the foxes. They died of the Greencough that came that Leafbare. And serve them right, for what they did."

Starshadow closed her eyes. It had been cruel fate that took her father's mother. She couldn't believe that Briarheart would do something like that. "That can't be all of it," she protested. "There must be a reason!"

Crystal turned her cold eyes on Starshadow. "Well they did. And I don't care _why_ they did it, but they did. ThunderClan is nothing but a bunch of cold-hearted liars and traitors."

Mistlight barely took in what Crystal was saying. She remembered the outbreak of Greencough last Leafbare. It had taken many cats - Jaydark, Dappleeye, Nightears, Brambletail, Briarheart, and Eagleheart. Others had died from the coldness that had followed. She couldn't believe Crystal was actually _glad_ that Briarheart and Brambletail had died! This was a cold cat. But why would Briarheart do such a thing, and why would Brambletail help her? The Clan needed kits, so why cast one out?

Ivyfrost took control of the situation. "So, what would you have us do?"

Crystal looked coolly at her. "Another challenge is coming. Meet it like true warriors, and perhaps ThunderClan will survive. StarClan has spoken."

"And what is this challenge?" Snowbird mewed anxiously.

"Me." Came the answer. Then Crystal was gone, leaving them alone in the amazing cave.

Ivyfrost muttered, "Go figure. Let's get out of here - I don't trust her."

Starshadow muttered agreement, and Mistlight flicked her ears and followed them out.

The warriors den was quiet. Every cat in it was sleeping - except for Mistlight. She sat at the edge of it, looking out on the silent camp. She was thinking about her kits. She was thinking about Redleg. How could she tell him? Ivyfrost was right - she should have told him before. She sighed, and settled into an uneasy sleep. As soon as she closed her eyes, a flash awoke her. _Lightning! _She thought in alarm. That could cause a fire. She quietly and quickly tiptoed out of the warriors den, to make sure no fire had been lit. Strangely, there was no sign of the lightening. Then she heard someone behind her. She was half-expecting to see Crystal, but she didn't.

It was Briarheart!

Then it hit her. She was dreaming! Briarheart came closer. "My kits are in danger," she said in a soft, sad voice.

Mistlight was confused. "Crystal isn't your kit, then?"

Briarheart closed her eyes. "No, Crystal _is_ my kit. They are all in danger."

"But Crystal IS the danger!" Mistlight pointed out hotly.

"I know. I thought I could trust him."

"Trust who?" Mistlight asked, still incredulous.

Her gaze was sad and filled with tears. "Tangleshadow," she murmured softly.

Mistlight was bewildered. "Tangleshadow? You thought you could trust Tangleshadow?"

"After all that has happened," Briarheart continued, "There was another pair of kits that were Half Clan. Half _ShadowClan_."

Mistlight stood stock-still. "You mean... you had kits with Rockflow? Mosshadow, Mintleaf, and Crystal are half ShadowClan?"

"Yes." Briarheart sounded resigned to the lies that she had spun. "If a queen does not wish to tell, she does not tell. Thunderclan never knew who the father to my kits was. Tangleshadow came to me one night after the kits were born, and told me that Crystal looked nothing like any cat in ThunderClan. But his sister was pure white, just like Crystal. Snowfire died a while after my kits were born. So I said that I would give Crystal to him to raise in ShadowClan as a kit of another queen who he could trust. But I never knew until I joined StarClan that he didn't come for her. I left her in the middle of the forest, alone, with Brambletail's help - and he didn't come. She was completely abandoned."

"But why didn't Tangleshadow come?" Mistlight asked.

"Sometimes even StarClan cannot see the deeply hidden past."

Mistlight was skeptical. "Really? I saw the deeply hidden past enough quite recently."

Briarheart regarded her. "Yes, but sometimes StarClan cannot see the future - or the past. The way is clouded."

"Could you send me through to see what happened?"

"It is not important. What happens in the present is the important thing."

Mistlight argued with her - she could feel in her pelt that it was important. Very important. She said, "What happens in the past can affect the present easily."

Briarheart sighed. "You are close to kitting. I can't send you there."

But an idea was being born in Mistlight's mind. "I think there's someone who would like to be the hero of this adventure..." she said, grinning smugly.

**KK! The button is right down there.**


	3. Chapter 2, To Change the Past

Chapter 2, to change the past

"So you want me to just waltz into the past and find out what a ShadowClan warrior was busy doing because a dead cat came and told you everything you need to know except 'O wait, I don't actually know what happened that night?'" Starshadow said.

Mistlight shifted her unusually large weight between her paws. "Well... Yes. I think it's important."

"Let me get this straight." Starshadow began a long rant, "Briarheart had kits with a cat from another Clan. And, that cat was the ShadowClan deputy. So she was willing to give up her kits just because they didn't look right. And no one was suspicious when she didn't say who the father was, and no one - not even the medicine cat - noticed that one of her kits was missing. And then the ShadowClan deputy was just planning on saying 'here this is my kit, pretend it's yours' to a queen in ShadowClan. But then he didn't show up. I think there are a little to many holes in this story."

Mistlight knew getting past Starshadow's barbed tongue was going to be hard. "Maybe, but that's why we need to find out what happened that night."

Starshadow rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Mistlight. I've had enough of time traveling. Besides..." her voice trailed off and then she looked up in excitement. She had thought of something. "Who raised Crystal? A tiny kit couldn't survive for long on its own."

Mistlight frowned. She hadn't thought of that before. Besides, Crystal was good at hunting and sneaking up unseen. She couldn't just have come up with the hunters' crouch all on her own, or mastered it perfectly before leaving the nursery. "You're right. That's why I need you to go back and see what happened."

"Why me?" Starshadow asked.

Now came the bit Starshadow wouldn't be able to resist. "What, are you scared?" Mistlight said, her eyes twinkling.

Starshadow growled. "Fine, I'll do it."

Mistlight smiled. "Good."

The plan had been set in motion.

Mistlight came back from hunting with Snowbird. She had caught only a mouse and a vole - her weight prevented her from jumping too far.

Redleg came over, a stern look on his face. "Pinepool tells me you are expecting kits."

Snowbird quietly padded away.

From the bottom of the highrock, where Ivyfrost was organizing patrols, Rainstar emerged. "Let all cats old enough to catch their prey gather here beneath the highrock for a Clan meeting!"

Mistlight was saved from responding. Every cat was wondering what was going on. Why would Rainstar call a Clan meeting? Everything was quiet, wasn't it?

"We have scented rogues on our territory. Many rogues. I think it may be a group of rogues that tried to take over when Leafstar was leader. We must drive them out again, just like we did before."

Now most of the cats in the clearing were anxious. What was going to happen? Redleg murmured, "You need to rest. You need to move into the nursery."

Before Mistlight could protest, Pinepool came over too and said, "Yes you do, Mistlight."

Mistlight sighed, then headed in the direction of the nursery.

"I'll bring you some herbs later!" Pinepool called out to her. Mistlight flicked her tail to show she had heard. Snowbird and Ivyfrost came over later. "Mistlight! I see you've moved into the nursery," Snowbird chirped excitedly.

"You didn't tell Redleg, did you? Pinepool did." Ivyfrost accused.

Mistlight didn't answer, but Ivyfrost knew the truth of it. Then Pinepool pushed her way through. "There's not enough room in here!" She hissed. "Out with you two!" She chased them away.

Then Rainstar came in. "Pinepool," he said in a low voice. "I need to talk to you."

Pinepool nodded, and after giving Mistlight borage she slipped back out of the den. "What is it?" she asked.

Rainstar looked uncomfortable. He began, "Pinepool... StarClan haven't sent you a sign about Mistlight's kits have they?"

Pinepool looked taken aback. "No... Why?"

Rainstar said reluctantly, "It seems like those four are up to something significant. I was so shocked when Dawnheart told me all that had happened."

Dawnheart had, of course, kept from them the fact that she had tried to kill Leafstar.

"I didn't even know that StarClan had the power to send cats into the past." Rainstar confided in her.

Pinepool shook her head. "I didn't either. Those four are definitely significant. Why, is there something you wanted to change?"

Rainstar laughed. "Do you think... do you think i made the right choice when I made Ivyfrost deputy? After all, she is my daughter."

Now Pinepool was serious. "Yes. Ivyfrost was an excellent choice. But, Rainstar, I hope that Mistlight's kit has a calling as a medicine cat. I'm getting old."

Rainstar nuzzled her in sympathy. "I know. We all are. I think new kits makes us feel old."

"You have nine lives, Rainstar." Pinepool reminded him. "What do you think happens if you lose one to old age? Will you become young again? That just wouldn't be fair."

Rainstar swiped at her with a sheathed paw. "Don't be silly."

Pinepool walked away, muttering.

"I can't believe I let Mistlight talk me into this," Starshadow muttered as she waited at Fourtrees. She was waiting for a way to get into the past - if Briarheart was true to her word.

Then a sudden light shone from behind her. She saw Brambletail. "Brambletail." She dipped her head.

Brambletail acknowledged her, then said, "Come."

She stepped into the light and instantly found herself in a dark forest with a half moon above her head. Thorns were everywhere in front of her. She recognized the pine trees that ShadowClan lived in. Then she saw Tangleshadow coming through the pine trees.

"_Snowfire, are you sure about this?" he asked._

"_Never surer." The white she-cat responded. She had patches of ginger fur on her paws._

"_But you don't have kits! Who will you say is the father?" Tangleshadow protested._

"_If a queen does not wish to tell, she does not tell." Snowfire said dismissively. "Don't worry so much. I'd do anything for your kit."_

_Starshadow stepped forward to hear more._

_Tangleshadow nuzzled her affectionately. "Thank you."_

"_Don't get all soppy on me!" The she-cat reminded Starshadow of Ivyfrost, and a little of herself._

_Then a rogue came up from behind them. It wasn't just one rogue, it was many rogues! The same rogues that had tried to drive ShadowClan out once before..._

_Snowfire screeched as a tom sank his claws into her throat and raked them down her back. Tangleshadow struggled wildly, but fell do the ground with many wounds covering him. He was unconscious. Snowfire, too, lay on the ground without breathing. Starshadow caught her breath. That was why they hadn't come! _

_She rushed forward to them. She knew that Tangleshadow must survive - but Snowfire died. But what if there was something she could do to save her? __**But who knows what would happen then,**__ she thought. __**I can't alter the past! Who knows what might happen!**__ She felt helpless. Then she calmed herself. She had to somehow help Tangleshadow. She ignored the thought nagging at the back of her mind, __**What if there's something I can do to help Snowfire?**__ Then she gathered cobwebs and spread them over Tangleshadow's wounds. She remembered and herb Pinepool had used when she had been injured one time. Marigold! But how do I find it? What does it look like? _

_Then she realized that the ShadowClan medicine cat was back in ShadowClan camp. But she couldn't just sneak into their camp. But if she brought Tangleshadow back to be healed then everything would happen just like it did before. Knowing __why__ wasn't enough. She had to stop it somehow! She __had__ to make sure that Crystal got to Tangleshadow. Then a thought stopped her in her tracks. Snowfire was the queen that Tangleshadow was going to give Crystal to, to raise! So if she didn't help Snowfire..._

_She had never felt so helpless in her life. She didn't know if something she did would just make it worse, or if she could completely avert the catastrophe all together. She sighed. Given a choice, she would rather go into the unknown than face the destruction of ThunderClan by Crystal. She would just have to pray that the ShadowClan medicine cat would trust her when she said to help Snowfire and Tangleshadow. _

_She stepped lightly into the sleeping camp. She sniffed the air for the smell of herbs, and found it. She followed it into what must be the medicine cat den. She remembered the medicine cat from gatherings. She was struck by the memory of Shadowfire, the old ThunderClan deputy. She stopped just outside the den. They had the same name. A fluke? She wondered. She probably wasn't the first cat to be called Starshadow, after all. Then she saw the ShadowClan medicine cat rising from her nest. "ThunderClan. What are you doing here?"_

_Then she realized there was another cat behind her, still sleeping. Briarice! She hasn't joined the elders yet! Briarice had been Shadowfire's mentor, the previous medicine cat of ShadowClan. Shadowfire stepped aggressively up to her. "What do you want?" she asked warily._

_Starshadow answered coolly, "Your deputy-" she realized the slip too late, Tangleshadow might not be deputy yet! _

"_-Tangleshadow, and Snowfire are injured outside of your camp."_

"_What were you doing on ShadowClan territory?" Shadowfire asked, although she was getting herbs from the back of the den in the darkness. _

"_Just be glad I heard them," Starshadow thought quickly. _

"_Why were you out this late?" Shadowfire asked quickly._

"_It's none of your business what I do in my own time!"_

"_Fine. Where are they?" Shadowfire asked._

_Starshadow quickly led her to the place where Tangleshadow and Snowfire had been laying. But as soon as they got there, they saw that a ring of rogues had formed around them. They couldn't get to them now. _

_**But if Snowfire dies then Crystal will turn out just the same way! **__She thought desperately. She knew even with her fighting skills she couldn't take them, and Shadowfire hadn't been trained in warrior skills._

_Shadowfire said, "I'll come back in the morning. And for your sake, you'd better hope they're alive!"_

"_What exactly do you mean, for my sake? They would most certainly be dead if it weren't for me!"_

"_I think you were trying to lead me into an ambush. Get out of ShadowClan territory." Shadowfire growled._

_Starshadow sat down on a tree in ThunderClan territory. Maybe if she could find where Crystal was... or get Briarheart to take Crystal back! Yes! That was it! She leapt up - but then realized that she hadn't been born yet in this time. She cursed in frustration. Well she would just have to find Crystal herself, and save ThunderClan from what was going to happen!_

A paw prodding her in the side awoke her. She saw Crystal standing over her. What happened? She wondered.

Crystal said, "You sleep soundly."

Starshadow's mind raced. Was that how they went to other times? Did they fall deeply asleep and wake up in a different time? That wouldn't make sense... but maybe it was so. Crystal was still staring at her. "Are you going to attack me or something?" She asked, fully aware she had failed to stop what had happened.

"No." Crystal told her matter-of-factly. "I'm just going to make sure you don't go anywhere."

Starshadow looked around and realized that she was ensnared in a cave. There was no-where to go - but then how had Crystal gotten in? She saw there was an opening in the top. It was too far to jump, and the sides of the cave that closed around her were too slick to climb up. Crystal leaped, and paws grasped her.

A while later, Starshadow gave a start as she sat. Her eyes came wide open. The paws that had grabbed her! They were _white paws with amber splotches._ There was only one cat she knew that had those paws.

She thought,

_Snowfire!_


	4. Chapter 3, A surprise visit from trouble

Chapter 3, surprise visit from trouble

Mintleaf yawned. She wondered where Starshadow had gone. No one had seen her for two days! But she was sure that, wherever her previous apprentice was she could take care of herself. Nothing ever held Starshadow up for long. The other Clan members were worried, but Mintleaf thought it was more likely that Starshadow had gone off to fight a badger or something. She supposed she should be worried about that possibility too, but she wasn't. She knew Starshadow through and through, and she could get her way out of just about anything.

Mosshadow woke up next to her. "Thinking about Starshadow?" she asked.

Mosshadow always seemed to know what she was thinking. It came of being so close, Mintleaf thought.

"She can take care of herself," Mintleaf reassured her.

Mosshadow blinked. "You trained her well."

Mintleaf frowned. Starshadow had been a good apprentice, and Mintleaf _had_ taught her well, but there was something more than that. Almost as if she had another mentor!

"Thanks," she murmured. "I just hope she hasn't gone and done anything stupid. She's headstrong, you know."  
>"It's a good thing that Rainstar didn't give her an apprentice," Mosshadow said. Then, she quickly made amends. "I just meant because she vanished."<p>

Mintleaf nodded her understanding. "Come on. I want to hunt today!"

"It'll be a good day for hunting," Mosshadow agreed. "Let's go!"

"Mintleaf, you can go with Doveflight and Thornfur. Mosshadow, you can go on a border patrol with Dustfur, Mudclaw, and Birchpaw." Ivyfrost ordered. Then she spoke to her own apprentice. "Nightpaw, let's go with Snowbird and Lightpaw and get some battle training. Come on."

Mintleaf followed Doveflight and Thornfur out of camp. Soon enough, she had caught a rabbit and a starling. She said, "I think I'll try for a mouse near that patch of thorns over there."

Doveflight and Thornfur nodded their agreement and padded off in a different direction. Mintleaf stalked quietly up to the thorn patch, waiting for the slightest sign of prey. Instead, she heard a cat's voice. She spun around, to see a white she-cat standing in front of her. "Who are you?" she mewed cautiously.

"My name is Crystal."

Mosshadow was patrolling the RiverClan border when she heard her sister cry out. She spun around in shock, and ran towards the noise as fast as she could. The rest of the patrol looked startled, but followed her. Birchpaw was lagging behind, so Dustfur said, "Why don't you go back to camp and say we heard Mintleaf cry out but we don't know if there's trouble yet?"

Birchpaw looked pleased to be singled out, although not entirely unaware that she was being sent back because she couldn't run fast enough. She ran as fast as she could back to camp, and Dustfur tried to catch up with Mudclaw and Mosshadow. But it was a good thing he was lagging behind, because he saw the vast number of rogues that was waiting for his Clanmates in the shadows.

He stopped short, and yelled, "It's a trap! There's an ambush!"

His Clanmates didn't stop in time to avoid fighting with the rogues. An opposition of two warriors to twenty wouldn't do much good. He didn't want to leave them, but he ran back after Birchpaw. "Birchpaw!" He screamed. "Get as many warriors as you can! We're being attacked by rogues! Run as you have _never_ run before!"

She had heard him and picked up the pace, but his yowl had alerted the rogues, and they had lost the element of surprise. He was about to leap in to fight beside Mosshadow and Mudclaw when he saw four of the rogues separating and running after Birchpaw. He couldn't leave her all alone, but what about his Clanmates?

Mintleaf, on the ground, saw the problem and yowled, "Go after her! We'll be fine!"

Her eyes were glazed with pain from one of the scratches the rogues had given her, but she struggled to her feet and kept fighting.

From the shadows, the white cat leapt out and yelled, "STOP! I told you not to harm them!"

The rogues receded, although there were growls at her, and one spoke out. "Who made you our leader? I'm in charge here, and I say we teach them a lesson."

Crystal spun around and raked his ear with one powerful blow. Blood trickled down his face. "Does any one else want to defy me?" She asked. "From now on, I _am_ your leader."

There were no growls this time, but clearly the cats weren't happy.

She knelt down beside Mintleaf and Mosshadow. She said, "Take this one-" she indicated Mudclaw, "-away. And make sure you catch the other two. We need to hurt ThunderClan like they've never been hurt before."

Mosshadow spat at her when she talked about hurting ThunderClan. "Whatever you're going to do with us, you won't hurt ThunderClan!"

Crystal smiled. "I have something to tell you two stubborn cats. And I don't think you're going to like it very much..."


	5. Chapter 4, Unlikely Hero

Chapter 4, Unlikely hero

Mistlight screeched in pain. Pinepool murmured reassurance to her. Redleg was at the door of the nursery, but had obeyed when Pinepool had said to 'not come any closer'. "It's all right," Pinepool told her. "Everything will be fine. You'll see. You'll have fine, healthy kits."

Mistlight could barely hear her. But soon, Pinepool's words came true. She had one healthy kit.

Redleg was instantly by her side. It was a tiny gray kit with piercing blue eyes. For a second, she was taken aback when its gaze settled right on her. "What should we call her?" Redleg asked.

"Stormkit," Mistlight murmured.

Starshadow sat alone in the darkness, trying to think of how Snowfire had survived. Then she saw a cat padding up to her in the darkness. She knew she was dreaming. No cat could have gotten in there without climbing down. She realized it was Leafstar. "I have another prophecy for you," she warned.

"Great," Starshadow replied sarcastically.

"Rose of the storm, hawk of the Lightning, and fire of the Crystal must unite to defeat the enemies that stand before the Clan of Thunder. But they cannot succeed alone, the night of no stars, the heart of dawn, the bird on the snow, the pool of pine, the coat of hazy fur, the frozen ivy and the misty light must all help them. The fire of the crystal must be tamed, and only water can quench fire. But mist is water in another form..." the vision of Leafstar and her voice trailed away.

Starshadow sighed. _As if the first prophecy wasn't enough_, she thought. It seemed like prophecies were nothing but trouble. Then she heard screeching from outside. What was going on? She desperately craned her neck to get a look at what was happening. Finally the noise died down, and Starshadow could hear Crystal's voice. _"I have something to tell you two stubborn cats. And I don't think you're going to like it very much..."_

Starshadow stiffened when she realized that Crystal was talking to Mosshadow. She knew before Crystal spoke the words what she was going to say.

"I am your sister," Crystal said. Starshadow heard a gasp of disbelief coming from above. She heard as Crystal launched into the one sided story, because she didn't know the other side.

She must have fallen asleep, because the next time she opened her eyes there was light seeping in through the narrow opening at the top. Then she heard a hiss from above. "Is any one down there?"

_Thank you, StarClan,_ she thought. It was Mintleaf, her old mentor. "It's me, Starshadow," she said quietly. "Can you get me out of here?"

She heard Mintleaf moving around the hole. Then she saw her paws slip down. She leaped up, and Mintleaf heaved her out. "Thank you!" Starshadow breathed.

Mintleaf nodded.

"What happened?" Starshadow continued.

Mintleaf sighed. "There's a cat here telling us she's our sister."

Starshadow knew that already, and wasn't worried about letting that on in the present situation. "I meant the set up. Have they got you as prisoners here?"

Mintleaf nodded again. "Yes. There are groups of rogues all around us. Starshadow sighed. This was going to be a _very _long day.

Stormkit bounced around camp, happy as any other kit. Snowbird, watching her, was less happy. Mistlight, Snowbird, and Ivyfrost were all subdued. Starshadow had been missing for six moons, as had Mintleaf and Mosshadow. Every cat had given up searching. Ivyfrost had moved into the nursery a while ago, and she was worried that her place as deputy might be in danger. But Rainstar had assured her that her place would be returned to her once she got out of the nursery. The new deputy had been Thornfur. Nightpaw had been given to Doveflight as an apprentice, and Ivyfrost didn't much like that either. Doveflight might easily turn Nightpaw to her own ways, which weren't very nice. Doveflight was a vain bully to other she-cats more beautiful than her. Nightpaw was very beautiful, and angry that she hadn't been made a warrior yet.

Ivyfrost's memory drifted back to the day that Birchpaw had exploded into camp with an important message the day Starshadow, Mintleaf, and Mosshadow had disappeared.

_"Rainstar! Rainstar!" the young apprentice panted. "We're in trouble! There are a lot of rogues, and they've got Mintleaf and Mosshadow! Mudclaw is with them, too."_

_The apprentice bore scratches on her flank, and Dustfur who was behind her had a nasty gash near his ear. They had sent warriors, but the rogues had disappeared. No one knew where they had gone._

_They were short on four warriors, and the rogues took prey, then disappeared._

Ivyfrost shook herself back into the present. Stormkit was almost ready to be apprenticed, and so was her kit; Lightningkit. She knew Mistlight blamed herself for sending Starshadow into the past - what if something had happened there? The image of Starshadow flashed between the three friends whenever they talked together.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here for a Clan meeting!" Rainstar gave the customary call.

Lightningkit wasn't old enough to be an apprentice yet, but Pinepool needed the help desperately. He was five moons old, and wouldn't be fighting; he was training to be a medicine cat. So he was going to be given his apprentice name early.

"From this day forward, Stormkit, until she receives her warrior name, shall be known as Stormpaw. Hazefur, you are ready for an apprentice. You shall mentor Stormkit. You are a loyal warrior, and I expect you to pass on all the skills you have learned to her." All the cats cheered. Dawnheart looked uncomfortable at the mention of 'loyalty'. Would a loyal warrior have told Leafstar when she was leader that Dawnheart had tried to kill her? But she cheered anyways, for Hazefur. _Those times are behind me,_ she reminded herself.  
>"From this day forward, Lightningkit, until he receives his medicine cat name, shall be called Lightningpaw. Pinepool, you are ready for an apprentice. You shall mentor Lightningkit. You are a wise medicine cat, and I expect you to pass on all the skills you have learned to him."<p>

The Clan cheered. Lightningpaw and Stormpaw were popular, although Stormpaw's tongue was dangerous to be around. They were almost exact opposites - Stormpaw was fierce and aggressive - although not unintelligent, she was one of the smartest cats in the Clan - and Lightningpaw was gentle and calm. Stormpaw had enough energy to run anywhere, it seemed.

Pinepool said, "It will be the half moon in just around a moon from now, Lightningpaw. We'll go there then."

Lightningpaw frowned. "But it's the half moon tonight."

"I know," Pinepool said. "But you're a moon too young, remember?"

Lightningpaw nodded. Stormpaw grinned smugly at him, because she was the right age. She sensed a tail flicking her ear and looked around. It was her mentor, Hazefur. "Don't be cruel," he told her.

"I was just joking," she grumbled. Lightningpaw was indifferent - he was on the right path for him. It didn't matter whether it was now or in a moon from now.

"Come on," he said more cheerfully, "Battle training."

Stormpaw jumped and started running for the training hollow.

"You don't know where you're going!" He called out to her. But she followed the scents from the other apprentices, and was lounging on the moss when Hazefur arrived panting. He looked at her sternly. This one was going to be hard to teach!

After a while, Hazefur was exhausted. How could she have so much energy? "Dawnheart!" He called. "Can you work with Stormpaw for a while?"

Dawnheart said, "Alright. If it's too much for you." She was joking, he could tell. He liked her jokes better than Stormpaw's jokes.

But Dawnheart didn't want to give Stormpaw battle training. She said, "Sit down here, next to me."

Stormpaw sat.

"We're going to work on strategy," Dawnheart explained. "Let's say that we are attacking WindClan, because they've stolen prey."

"Have they?" Stormpaw's blue eyes were wide.

"No," Dawnheart scolded her. "But WindClan is here." She drew a circle in the dirt. "You are here." She drew another circle. "Which way do you sneak up on them?"

Stormpaw looked bewildered.

Dawnheart said, "Well the border is between you. If you go across it they'll notice, but if you slip through the trees they probably won't."

Stormpaw growled. "I'd want them to see me. I'd go right up to them and claw their ears off."

"Then you lose the element of surprise."

Stormpaw said, "I see you obviously think it would be better to go through the trees."

"It would be," Dawnheart told her.

Hazefur came back. "What do you say to some hunting?"

"Yes please!" Stormpaw's tail was straight up.

Dawnheart nodded in a more dignified fashion.

They were near the WindClan border when they saw a fox coming towards them. "Uh oh..." Hazefur said. "Stormpaw, run back to camp. We should be able to deal with it, but a patrol of fresh warriors would help."

Stormpaw said, "I won't!"

Dawnheart rounded on her, eyes angry. "Do as you are told," she hissed.

Hazefur said, "Look, you'll get to fight a fox another day. Please, we need the help."

Stormpaw said, "You need help? Then don't send me away."

Dawnheart lost patience with her, and shoved her away. She cried out in pain as a briar caught on her fur and left a trail of blood. The fox drew closer. Dawnheart and Hazefur were angry at her. _Let them be,_ she thought in a strange rage. _Be calm, _an inner voice told her. She realized it was Lightningpaw's voice. _Be calm and let StarClan help you._

Then the calm found her seething mind. She felt it flow through her. Suddenly she looked around and saw Lightningpaw's eyes in the air. There was a faint outline of him, too. But then it was gone, and she saw a hawk swooping along the horizon. Thunder rolled. Lightning flashed down, and rain pounded the ground. The fox was struck by the lightning.

Blue light flashed in her eyes beyond the normal intensity. Power flashed in her eyes. Hazefur let out a shocked gasp.


	6. Chapter 5, Escape

Chapter 4, Escape

Mintleaf sat down, suddenly looking very old. "What are we going to do?" she asked, more to herself than to Starshadow.

But Starshadow was determined. "We can't give up." _StarClan help us, _she thought privately. _I never thought I would thank Clawstorm for the training that he gave me, but I'm thanking him now. Come on, Starshadow. You used to be the best fighter in the forest. Only you can get us out of this._

She said, "There's only one way to get out of this."

"We can't fight!" Mintleaf wailed softly.

Starshadow began to say something, then stopped. **Was** there only one way? "Mintleaf... I need you to go to Crystal."

Mintleaf listened as Starshadow explained her plan.

"Crystal?" Mintleaf's voice echoed around the den that Crystal had made her own.

"Mintleaf." Crystal sounded pleased. "Have you come to join me?"

Mintleaf's memory flashed back to when she had been captured.

_Join me, sisters. We can rule the forest together, she had said._

"Yes," she said without hesitation.

"And Mosshadow?" Crystal asked, her eyes wide.

"I don't know." Mintleaf chose her words carefully. "But I must beg you... sister. Do not pursue this reckless course of action. Please, come back to ThunderClan with me."

Crystal snorted. "I think not. Do you wish to plead more, or join with me on my terms?"

Then white paws with amber splotches on them padded into the den. "Crystal. I believe she may have a point - although I beg you not to go back to ThunderClan."

Crystal looked confused. Mintleaf could see from the way Crystal looked up to Snowfire that she considered her to be like her mother.

"You have gone too far." Snowfire was blunt, and sounded in pain. "And it is my fault. I was angry at StarClan, that they allowed this to happen. But the fault is mine. Come back to ShadowClan, Crystal. They will welcome you."

Crystal laughed, although she wasn't happy. "Ha! I doubt that. If they knew I was the one behind the attacks on the Clans..." her voice trailed off, and for the first time she sounded afraid.

Then Starshadow padded in. Snowfire and Crystal's eyes grew wide. "Yes, I escaped from that wretched hole you put me in." she said wryly. "You've done enough damage here - but no cat has died because of _you._"

It was true, she reflected. Crystal hadn't taken control of the rogues before this, so Sevenclaws' death hadn't been her fault.

Crystal said, "I will never join you! Never!" She spun around and ran out into the forest.

Snowfire crouched forward on her paws, her tail twitching. "What do you propose?" she asked.

"This is the hunters' crouch," Mistlight demonstrated to Stormpaw. They were out together, trying to catch some prey. Mistlight was enjoying herself, despite the cat's disappearances. But she still felt guilty for Starshadow. StarClan knows, what could have happened to her!

Stormpaw bent hard to the ground, and tried to imitate her.

Then Mistlight stiffened. There was a crashing noise from the bushes. The white she cat Mistlight knew to be Crystal was running through the forest.

She stopped in her tracks when she saw Mistlight and Stormpaw. Her tear-stained eyes widened - in fear or surprise?

Mistlight herself was too surprised to move. "C-crystal," she began. "What have you done with Starshadow?" she demanded.

Crystal looked numb. "Your friend is fine," she whispered.

"Then where is she?" Mistlight demanded

Crystal waved her tail vaguely in the direction Starshadow had gone. But as she made to leave, Mistlight said, "Wait!"

Crystal waited for death.

But it didn't come. Instead, Mistlight said something to Stormpaw under her breath. Then, Mistlight continued to Crystal. "Briarheart was your mother, Crystal."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"If you wish." Mistlight mewed. "Your father was Tangleshadow of ShadowClan."

"You didn't hear me the first time?"

Mistlight sighed. "Alright, Crystal. Let me tell you something. I fell in love outside of my Clan - outside of my time, actually."

Crystal looked doubtful at this, but didn't interrupt her this time.

"Then I had kits. I'm lucky the cat I loved came to live with me, here in ThunderClan. But if it had been the right thing for Stormpaw here to live in the past with her father, then I would have done it _in a heartbeat_. Because I love her enough." Mistlight could see Crystal feigning disinterest. She continued. "And I know that it would have taken almost dying to stop her father from taking her home with him. So you have to ask yourself if you think either of your parents were so cold-hearted that they would abandon you."

Crystal said, her eyes glittering with tears, "I don't know the people you're talking about. I was _abandoned,_ remember?"

Mistlight nodded. "But you know them through you. Do you think that you're that cold hearted?"

Crystal looked up. "I don't know any more."

Mistlight looked at her, with sympathy in her eyes for the first time. Her head cocked, she said, "I knew Briarheart. She wasn't cold hearted. She loved you."

Crystal didn't want to hear this. She had built her entire life on the fact that her mother had hated her, and had abandoned her. She didn't want to admit that she had been wrong - maybe that ThunderClan didn't need to suffer. She spun around, and stalked off.

Mistlight called after her, "What do you think the rogues were doing on the night you were supposed to be given to Tangleshadow to raise?"

Crystal stopped in her tracks. Then she hissed through gritted teeth, "You don't know anything for certain."

"No, I don't," Mistlight admitted. "But it's a fair bet they attacked a Clan cat."

Crystal stopped again, for just a moment, before she kept padding away toward the rogue camp.

"All those under my command, gather under Crystal Rock." The Crystal Rock was a rock that glittered under the right light - but right now it was just a plain gray rock sticking out of the side of a mound. "I have decided," Crystal mewed, "That we will go in search of new places to live. The places here are too heavily settled, and the inhabitants have lived here for countless generations. They won't move now."

The rogues were murmuring amongst themselves, while Snowfire looked up at Crystal in approval. "You will need a new leader," Crystal continued. "I cannot lead you any more." Almost under her breath, she added, "I've hid from the truth long enough."

At this, one rogue called Moon stepped forward, and her mate, Cloud. "You don't have enough back bone to lead us, more like! You've got a soft spot for these cats here, so you'll take us away from food and shelter!" Moon jeered. Moon was the worst of the rogues, and her mate Cloud was no better.

Crystal was about to deny it, when all the other rogues started turning against her.

Then she disappeared under a flurry of claws.

From the woods, Stormpaw felt her paws tugging her towards camp. Just as Mistlight asked her what she was doing, she broke into a run. She found her paws carried her to the medicine cat den, where Lightningpaw was preparing herbs. "What is it?" he asked in his low mew.

"I..." Stormpaw was confused for a moment. "I don't know! It's the strangest thing."

Lightningpaw looked up at her, finally. "I'm a medicine cat. Maybe I can help."

Stormpaw rested her head on her paws. "I..." her voice faltered. "I was out in the forest with Hazefur and Dawnheart. There was a fox. Then..." her voice trailed off.

Lightningpaw looked up at her, an expression she couldn't read flashing in his amber eyes. "Then a storm came. A hawk flew, and lightning struck. I know _exactly _what happened, Stormpaw. I was there."

Stormpaw's blue eyes widened. "I thought I saw you... but... how?"

Lightningpaw's eyes glittered. "I was asleep, and I saw it happen. StarClan has given you powers, Stormpaw. And I think I'm part of them."

Stormpaw got up abruptly. "Then what do we do with them?"

Lightningpaw looked at his paws. "There's a group of rogues that could do with 'moving.'"

Stormpaw's eyes widened. "Lightningpaw! You're a genius!"

The two apprentices crouched near the rogues camp. Stormpaw leaned closer. "What are they doing?"

Lightningpaw's eyes were sharp. "I think they're trying to kill that white cat."

Hazefur came up behind them. Stormpaw jumped - they had come. "Are you crazy?" he hissed to her.

Stormpaw shook her head. "We need you guys here."

Starshadow shook her head. "I never should have told you about that prophecy."

Starshadow had escaped, with Snowfire, while Crystal was away. They had met up with Mistlight in the forest, and news of the prophecy had spread to Pinepool, Dawnheart, Snowbird, Hazefur, and Ivyfrost. The news had been given to Stormpaw and Lightningpaw. Stormpaw's eyes had flashed. "It must be about us! My name is Stormpaw, and Lightningpaw. But whose the Crystal?"

No one had answered her.

Lightningpaw asked, "Should we attack that way?" He pointed his tail to the main entrance to the camp.

Stormpaw shook her head. "Element of surprise."

Dawnheart looked at her. "So what do you suggest?"

Stormpaw pointed with her tail. "We _will_ attack through the main entrance, but when they run through there," she gestured to a less used path that was an escape route from the camp, "I'll be waiting for them."

Ivyfrost shook her head. "How will a party of..." she did a count, "Eight warriors flush them out? They are many. We are few. And one of us is a medicine cat."

Mistlight asked, "I only see seven."

Starshadow explained. "Pinepool, Dawnheart, Snowbird, Hazefur, Me, Ivyfrost, You, and Snowfire."

A brief explanation on who Snowfire was had to be given, as she stepped out of the shade of a pine tree.

It was Pinepool that came up with the plan. They would weave through the bracken and thorns; hide behind clumps of grass, so they couldn't be seen clearly. They would call to each other with more names than were there, making it sound like there was a whole Clan of warriors with them. Stormpaw and Lightningpaw snuck around. All the while Lightningpaw's eyes were fixed on the she-cat bleeding to death. He ran through the remedies he would need, if he could save her. _Cobwebs for bleeding, a poultice of marigold and horsetail for infections, and thyme for shock. _But that was _if_ he could save her.

"Come on, Rainstar!" Starshadow yelled. "Don't worry, Nightpaw, I'll get that one for you!"

"I've got him, Doveflight!" Mistlight replied, winking.

"Don't do it that way, Thornfur!"

"Behind you, Dustfur!"

"He's in the bushes, Redleg!"

"Birchpaw, fend off that one while I get this one!"

The calls flew around the clearing, indeed giving the impression of many more than eight cats. But the rogues wouldn't give their ground. Pretty soon, it was obvious that there were only eight of them. Crystal was laying splayed out in the middle of the clearing, not moving. Stormpaw winced as Mistlight tried to break out of the steadily encroaching ring. Her mother was shoved to one side with teeth and claws. Stormpaw sat bolt upright. It wasn't working. "StarClan, if there was ever a time..." she begged.

It was Lightningpaw that saw the first sign. The hawk, swooping as rain clouds gathered before the first lightning strike. Then the thunder rolled in, and rain fell.

But the lightning failed to strike. Try as they might, all it did was disorientate the rogues.

But it was enough.

Stormpaw had charged down when she saw the pelt of her father, Dustfur, weaving through the trees. She was confused as to what he was doing for a moment, then she saw Nightpaw, Birchpaw, Redleg, Hollyclaw, and Doveflight burst through the trees. Just what they needed - a strong patrol of fit warriors! At this, a cry burst from the woods nearby, and Mintleaf, Mosshadow, and Mudclaw came also. A wave of relief swept over Stormpaw.


	7. Chapter 6, Every Rose has it's thorn

Chapter 5, every rose has its thorn

Stormpaw was so excited. The battle had been won, and the rogues had been forced far away. She was about to be made a warrior! Then the white shecat bleeding on the ground forced her way into Stormpaw's mind. Her mood plummeted. The she-cat's name was Crystal, and she was Half Clan. She had thought it was weird to be Half Clan until it turned out that she was Half Clan, actually. Now being Half Clan gave you a better range of skills - and wasn't at all weird. They weren't sure if she was going to stay with ThunderClan or go back to ShadowClan with Snowfire, another ShadowClan cat. She wasn't Half Clan - or if she was no one had told Stormpaw.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the high rock for a Clan meeting!" Rainstar yowled.

Stormpaw's excitement returned as she looked up at him. He was such a wise leader, and surely he would make the right decision about Crystal and Snowfire. And she was about to be made a warrior!

"There is what may seem to you a stranger in our camp. But she is, in fact, part ThunderClan." Rainstar continued to tell a (somewhat!) adapted version of what had happened. "I have decided that it is her decision if she wishes to stay here."

There were some murmurs of disapproval at this, but no one spoke out.

Crystal looked at her paws. Snowfire wanted to go back to ShadowClan. "I... I cannot choose, Rainstar. The decision is _yours._"

Rainstar looked surprised - Stormpaw guessed he hadn't supposed he would be put on the spot like this. With a glance at Ivyfrost, he said something quietly to her. "ThunderClan could use another warrior..." he began.

There were many disapproving murmurs at this, and Rainstar looked unhappy.

Then Snowfire spoke up. "I will go back to ShadowClan, Rainstar. It's my home."

Rainstar looked relieved. "In that case, I would not separate Crystal from you."

Crystal dipped her head.

"But first," Rainstar continued, "I would like to have the honour of naming her a warrior.

"I, Rainstar, Leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these two apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn.

"Crystal, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your chosen Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Crystal bowed her head, and mewed quietly, "I do."

Stormpaw realized the second apprentice must be her! She couldn't wait.

"Crystal, from this moment on, you will be known as Crystalfire. StarClan honors your determination and wisdom, and I welcome you as a full warrior of your chosen Clan."

Crystalfire looked happy to be given this name. "Thank you, Rainstar. It is my honour to be named by you." She murmured.

"Stormpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Stormpaw whispered, "I do."

"Stormpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Stormrose. StarClan honors your energy and loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Then Rainstar went on to name Nightpaw, Birchpaw, and Lightpaw as Nightmoon, Birchflower, and Lightdawn.

Stormrose crunched into the moss of the warriors' den. She was so happy to finally be a warrior! It was so wonderful, even if she was tired. She closed her eyes to find herself in a forest she imagined was StarClan's. "Hello?" she called out.

She jumped as she saw Eagleheart and Puddlemoss, one of the previous Clan elders pad out. Eagleheart said, "There is one more prophecy to be fulfilled."

Puddlemoss continued, "Your journey is not yet over."

Eagleheart said, "The rose of the storm has succeeded, and now will fail."

Puddlemoss continued, "The rose of the storm will fail this time, and only with the help of the hawk of the lightning can the wrong be righted. The love of the swift swallow must be strong enough to break all bonds..."

"No! Tell me more!" Stormrose begged them. "What are you talking about? Who is the swift swallow? Are you sure I will fail? How?"

The only answer she got from the two cats before they faded away was, "Look to the wind - but beware, every rose has it's thorn."

The wind. The swift swallow. What did it all mean? Stormrose's legs ran swiftly through the forest, helping her think. She always thought better when she was running.

_Oh StarClan,_ she thought, _I just don't know enough!_

"Lightningpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Lightninghawk. StarClan honors your gentleness and understanding."

Lightninghawk stood at the moonstone, head raised high in pride. He was finally a medicine cat!

Stormrose was waiting outside for them. She had been so excited when he was named, that she wouldn't stay behind in ThunderClan territory. She had probably been sitting out there for hours. Poor Stormrose! It was cold outside.

But Stormrose wasn't having such a bad time. She was reliving the past few moments of her life.

_Stormrose was cold. She shook her fur, and shifted her paws. They were numb. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to come this way after all. But she had been so excited for Lightningpaw to become a medicine cat. _

"_Now you look like a hedgehog!" a voice joked from behind her._

_She spun around. "Wha-" she stopped mid-sentence. It was a WindClan warrior._

"_I said you looked like a hedgehog," he re-informed her._

_Now she was bristling, but more with indignation than anger. "And you look like a rabbit," she retorted._

"_Oooooh, that hurts," he joked._

_Stormrose's eyes narrowed. She didn't like him. He was too funny. "What are you doing out this late?"_

_He said, "What are you doing on my territory?"_

_There was an edge of steel to his voice._

"_I'm waiting for the medicine cats to come out," she told him coolly._

"_What, so you can prick them with your spines?" The teasing edge was back in his voice again._

_Stormrose rolled her eyes. "Look," she said. "Are you here for a reason?"_

"_Course."_

"_Are you going to tell me?" Stormrose asked, impatient._

"_Yes..."_

"_When?" she sighed, exasperated._

"_I saw you at the last gathering. I think you're a warrior now. My name's Swiftswallow, by the way."_

_She barely registered the connection with the prophecy. She was too transfixed by his blue eyes. So similar to hers._

"_I..."_

_She began to feel safe. Really, truly, safe in his blue gaze. Suddenly, out of the blue she wondered, __**Is this what love feels like?**__ She shook her head. __**Stormrose! Stop thinking like that! He said he's a WindClan warrior!**_

_But then he just had to echo her thoughts. "Is this what love feels like?"_

_For a moment she wondered if she had imagined the words coming out of his mouth._

_Then she heard the sound of the medicine cat's paw steps echoing from the Moonstone._

_He hissed, "Fourtrees! Tommorow, at Twilight! Be there."_

She spun around as Lightninghawk stepped up. "Lightningpaw!"

"It's Lightning_hawk_ now," he told her proudly.

She was reminded of the prophecy, but now wasn't the time to bring that up. "That's great!" But her mind was filled of the WindClan warrior.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Ivyfrost asked her son.

"I'm fine!" Lightninghawk insisted. "I'm a medicine cat now!"

Ivyfrost purred. "I know. It's wonderful. But are you sure there isn't something bothering you?"

Lightninghawk shifted his paws. "It's just... Well, you know about Stormrose?"

Ivyfrost nodded. She knew what he was talking about.

"Sometimes I can sense what she's feeling," he confessed.

Ivyfrost's ears pricked up. "Can you sense what she's feeling right now?"

He stuttered to begin with. "I... I'm not _exactly_ sure, but... she's feeling an odd mixture of excited and guilty. It's the strangest thing."

Ivyfrost looked worried. Stormrose was almost like her own daughter.

Suddenly, Lightninghawk asked, "Is she in the warriors' den?"

Ivyfrost spun around and ran back. It was almost twilight. Her face was drawn as she raced back. "No."

Lightninghawk sighed. Then, there was a muffled curse from the gorse tunnel - the entrance into camp. Lightninghawk and Ivyfrost snuck up just in time to see the appointed guard for the night - Birchflower, in this case; returning back to her post. Stormrose was in the bushes! Then she broke free of the thorns, and raced away from camp. Lightninghawk quickly stepped up to Birchflower. "Just going out to get some herbs," he informed her.

"Do you want me to get a warrior to go with you?" she asked.

Ivyfrost stepped up from behind. "I'm going with him."

Birchflower nodded, and let them pass.

They raced after Stormrose's rapidly disappearing gray pelt.

Stormrose spun around to face Lightninghawk and Ivyfrost. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw who it was for the first time. Swiftswallow was behind her. The night was silent as neither party would break the silence. Finally Stormrose said, "The rose of the storm will fail. Oh StarClan, no!"  
>Lightninghawk looked up. "Stormrose... what have you done?"<p>

"There was a prophecy," she moaned.  
>"The rose of the storm has succeeded, and now will fail. The rose of the storm will fail this time, and only with the help of the hawk of the lightning can the wrong be righted. The love of the swift swallow must be strong enough to break all bonds... I know what it means now." Her voice was thick with pain as she turned to Swiftswallow. "The love of the swift swallow must be strong enough to break all bonds with me. I am sorry that I let myself fall in love with you. Now... you must break the bond between us. We must never speak to each other again, do you understand?"<p>

Lightninghawk suddenly burst in, "Wait!"

Stormrose looked up. He was a medicine cat. Could he have another interpretation for this?

"To break _all_ bonds. He only has one bond with you - the bond of love. But all bonds..."

He was right! Great StarClan, he was right! Her eyes blazed with hope.

Lightninghawk continued, his eyes narrowing. "Come with me to the Moonstone, Ivyfrost. We must ask them what this means."

Absentmindedly, he walked off. Ivyfrost shrugged and followed. Her gaze lingered on Stormrose. "I pray that it is not your interpretation," she mewed softly."

"What does the prophecy mean?" Lightninghawk demanded.

Briarheart shuffled her paws. "When... when I fell in love with Tangleshadow I couldn't take the easy way out. It would have been too hard."

"StarClan speaks as clearly as mud," Ivyfrost muttered under her breath.

Briarheart continued. "Tangleshadow would have come to live with me in ThunderClan, but then I would have had to admit the truth about my kits."

Lightninghawk's eyes snapped up. "It has been done before?"

Briarheart nodded. "If they are to have happiness, Swiftswallow must leave WindClan for her."

Ivyfrost jumped to her feet. "Of course! To break all bonds with those he knows!"

Briarheart nodded again. "Yes."

"Thank you, Briarheart," Lightninghawk murmured.

Swiftswallow looked awkward. "I am truly sorry, Snowstar. But I am in love and I must go to her. I am sorry."

Snowstar was not a harsh leader. But he didn't like it.

"I will not prevent you from going," he said carefully. "And it seems you have no one here." Swiftswallow's mother had died in kit-birth, and his father had long since gone to hunt with StarClan. He had been the only kit, and hadn't made friends easily.

"You may go," he said finally.

Stormrose was overjoyed. "He let you go? Rainstar was thrilled, of course, to have an extra warrior. He'll never lose his reputation for taking cats in!"

Swiftswallow smiled. "I'm glad."

But there was one more matter left. Stormrose didn't want her powers any more. She wanted to be a normal cat. So she was going to the Moonstone that night to see if StarClan could remove them, somehow.

Stormrose bent her nose to the icy stone. She found herself in the forest of StarClan. "Can you remove my powers?" she asked in the blink of an eye.

Leafstar nodded. "Is it what you truly wish?"

"It is."  
>Leafstar smiled. "I am glad my Clan can look forward to many moons of peace. When you wake, your powers will be gone. Yet hawk and storm will still follow you. You cannot control them, yet the hawk will hunt near you."<p>

Stormrose nodded. It was more than she could have ever hoped for. "Thank you," she murmured.

Leafstar said, "You deserve your reward. They did not warn you, then?"

Stormrose looked up.

"Every rose has its thorn," Leafstar told her. "Rainstar should not have given you that name! I am glad my warrior name was not Leafrose."

"I heard Ivyfrost wanted to be called Ivyrose," Stormrose told her.

"There have been enough thorns in her path!" Leafstar told her. "Farewell, Stormrose. May StarClan light your path always!"

Stormrose awoke with a start. It was finally all over. And now, her paws tugged her home to ThunderClan. As she settled down in the warriors' den, she thought of ThunderClan. _It's __**my**__ Clan. It always will be. I'd never have been able to live with Swiftswallow in the open. He's so brave, coming here! _She licked his ear fondly. Many moons of peace was the best thing she had heard in moons!

THE END


End file.
